Here We Go Again!

We are about to welcome in a brand spankin' new year and people are tossing around resolutions.  Many are the same resolutions that are made every year and broken before mid month.  Sound familiar?  Be honest!  We've all done it!

What's my resolution?  I am so glad that you asked!  I really don't make resolutions because, like you, I break them!  I choose, instead, to set a series of small goals that I can easily check off my list once they are accomplished.  I already workout so my goal is to be more effective in said workouts.  I run so my goal is to sign up for a race and then train like a crazy woman.  I don't eat well at all so I want to make better choices to fuel my body.

There are, however, bigger goals that are meant to be on-going throughout the year and mine is a whopper!  I want to be the change that I expect to see happen.  Whoa!  Told ya it was a biggun!  I want to be a "doer" not a "sit and complain" type of person.  I want to see a need and design a solution.  I want to help change the world one hand up or one smile at a time.  

I know that changing the world is a tall order but I believe that we all possess some ability on some level that can be used to fuel change!  Let me be clear, you do not have to fly half way around the world to "be the change", there are opportunities in each of our backyards.  Really all we have to do is open our eyes and bravely take that step, out of our comfort zone, and just do it  (sorry Nike)!

Happy and Blessed New to you all!  Now, go be the change!

Summer is Gone!

Well,  school has started up again and I'm not all that happy about it!  I like to hang out with my beautiful daughter!  We have lots of fun together and now I am just lonely!  Not really but I do miss her like crazy!  Here is her first day picture from this past Friday.

This is an annual event and when she graduates she will have a photo, like this, from every first day!  My favorite question is the last one!  Last year she wanted to be a rockstar drummer but this year I can tell my actions are influencing her!

I am a St. Jude runner and have been for two years now!  I get to hang with 50 plus runners and crew for 2 days as we run 140 miles from Mattoon, Illinois to Peoria, Illinois!  

We raise money for the honor to run!  All the money goes to St. Jude to help kids fight cancer.  It is an amazing journey that is life changing!  Each runner has to raise a minimum of $750 this year I raised almost $1700!  The best part is knowing that it will help a child and NO ONE ever gets billed for treatment!  This year team Mattoon raised.......,,

By the time we reached Peoria, it was closer to $87,000 thanks to donations made by people we passed on our journey!  It is amazing and very humbling to be part of this team!  I even got to run with my fellow YMCA coworkers!  Look at this crew!

This year my ZTA Sorority sister, Natalie, joined her town to run to Peoria also!  I found her when we got to Peoria!  Another sister, Jill, came to watch both of our teams run into town!  I love these ladies!!

I am already excited for next year because I know we can raise more money than this year!  Until there is a cure........we will run!

Happy Runniversary to Me!

Three years ago, today, I laced up my shoes and set out to complete Couch to 5k and lose some weight!  I had already changed my eating habits the prior month and now it was time to get serious about my fitness, or lack there of!  That first day about killed me!  I was way out of shape!  Run, walk, run, walk, run, walk..,,you get the picture!  The next day I hurt but I laced up and did it again!  I did the walk/run until July 13 when our new shelter dog took me out at the knee!  ACL reconstruction soon followed as did recovery and my return to running!

Fast forward 3 years to today!  I have lost 60 pounds, completed numerous 5 Ks, ran from Mattoon to Peoria (140 miles) in a relay type run to benefit St. Jude and completed my first 1/2 Marathon!  I am also a coach for Girls on the Run, teach Bootcamp three times a week and will begin teaching swimming lessons and a Homeschool PE program in the fall!  Has running changed me?  Heck yeah!  It has made me stronger physically and mentally!  It has made me grateful for all the wonderful people it has brought into my life and it has made me inspired to inspire others in any way possible!  Am I fast?  Nope, but I am determined to better myself each time I pound the pavement!  For better or worse, I AM A RUNNER!  Wow!  Someone call Coach Stiff!  She will never believe it!

     Before running    @     after running!

My Shabby Chic Ladder

I finally got to finish my project with a little bit of help from my family!  The Diva loves to paint so color washing barn wood was  no problem for her!

 

We were going to build bird houses but I found these for $3 a piece and figured that it would be better to buy them than nag my husband to help me with the building process!

So here is the final project and all my husband had to do was cut two boards!

I love it!!  So what projects are you working on?  My next project is to color wash my porch swing!  Happy DIY weekend!

I have the ladder.........

No, I'm not doing any roofing or tree trimming!  I have a friend who is cleaning out his garage and well, you know the old adage about the difference between his junk and my treasure!  When I saw them I almost cried.  My husband did not understand my joy and told me to leave them so they could be burned!  Nooooo! These potential beauties were soon loaded in the Yukon and on their way to my rock garden.  Ok, one of them will stay and I will reluctantly share the one with my Morher-in-law!

I have spent much time on Pinterest searching for ideas on how to decorate my treasured find and have some awesome ideas but I think I just need to start and see where the inspiration leads! Stay tuned to see the finished product!

This Crazy Thing Called Life!

Blogging kind of went on the back burner while I was busy pursuing other life goals!  Believe me when I say, I have been super busy!  So now I am ready to bring you all up to speed!

First, I started instructing a boot camp 3 days a week at our local YMCA.  5:15 AM is mighty early but it is so worth the effort!  My body loves me for it and so do the folks who come to my class to be tortured.  Don't laugh, it's tough!

Then I got the bright idea that I wanted to take my running to the next level, so I signed up for my first 1/2 Marathon.  That's 13.1 miles!  It seemed like a good idea at the time but training 3 days a week, before the sun came up was super tough.  Rain, sleet, snow, ice.....my training partner and I endured it all just so  we could cross that finish line!  We did it!

 

While I was training, I was also coaching Girls on the Run!  It is an awesome program that teaches girls about self worth, confidence and dealing with bullies while teaching them to run a 5k!  This program and the girls have changed my life and made me a better person!

I was nominated for Coach of the year but the best part was running with my 6 year old Diva!  It was her first 5k!

So now that summer is here and school is out life is pushing forward.  There are races to run and many fun trips planned! Our first trip will be this Friday to see the St. Louis Cardinals play!  The tickets were a gift from the Moody Teen for my Birthday (which just happens to be this Friday)!  It will be the Diva's first MLB!!  Bring on the summer fun!